OECD SKILLS STUDIES OECD SKILLS STRATEGY LITHUANIA ASSESSMENT AND RECOMMENDATIONS.

263 Pages·2021·5.782 MB·English

by  OECD.

OECD Skills Studies
OECD Skills Strategy
Lithuania
ASSESSMENT AND RECOMMENDATIONS

OECD Skills Studies
OECD Skills Strategy
Lithuania
ASSESSMENT AND RECOMMENDATIONS
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Please cite this publication as:
OECD (2021), OECD Skills Strategy Lithuania: Assessment and Recommendations, OECD Skills Studies, OECD Publishing,
Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/14deb088-en.
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OECD Skills Studies
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Foreword
Developing and using people’s skills effectively is crucial for Lithuania’s economic prosperity, innovation
and social cohesion.
Globalisation, digitalisation, demographic change and climate change are combining to increase and
transform the skills needed to thrive in Lithuanian workplaces and society. People will need a stronger and
more well-rounded set of skills, including cognitive, social and emotional, and job-specific skills, to flourish
in life both in and outside of work. Lithuania will also need to make better use of people’s skills in the labour
market and in individual workplaces to harness the potential of people’s skills. The COVID-19 crisis of 2020
has accelerated the digitalisation of learning and work, and made upskilling and reskilling even more critical
for many adults.
Lithuania has achieved relatively strong skills performance in various areas. In terms of developing
people’s skills, participation rates in upper secondary and tertiary education are higher in Lithuania than in
almost all other OECD countries. In terms of using people’s skills, Lithuania does a good job overall of
activating skills in the labour market, with men and women having relatively high and equal employment
rates.
However, Lithuania faces several persistent skills challenges. Young people have comparatively low levels
of cognitive and socio-emotional skills, and this has not improved over time. There remain large gaps in
skill levels and educational attainment between youth from disadvantaged and advantaged backgrounds.
Skills imbalances appear to be high, and many graduates are not well matched to their jobs. Many adults
lack foundational skills such as literacy and numeracy, and relatively few adults participate in education
and training. Employers are not using workers’ skills to their full potential to support productivity and
innovation.
In recent years, Lithuania has introduced various strategies and reforms covering different levels of
education and training, and different areas of labour market and innovation policy. These have helped
improve school and university networks, vocational education, teachers’ education and conditions, among
other things.
Today, Lithuania has a unique window of opportunity to build on these reforms to improve performance
and equity across the skills system. Lithuania is in the process of developing several important medium-
and long-term strategies that have a clear focus on skills. The OECD’s Skills Strategy project seeks to
support Lithuania to seize this opportunity. It does this by providing detailed analysis and widespread
engagement with stakeholders, leading to several tailored recommendations for Lithuania outlined in this
report.
The OECD stands ready to support Lithuania as it seeks to put skills at the forefront of its agenda for a
more productive, innovative, green and equitable economy and society.
OECD SKILLS STRATEGY LITHUANIA © OECD 2021
4 
Acknowledgements
This report is part of a series of country projects within the OECD programme of work on “Building Effective
National Skills Strategies”.
The OECD team wishes to thank the Lithuanian Steering Group for this project for its strategic oversight.
As of October 2020 the Steering Group was chaired by Lukas Savickas, First Deputy Chancellor, Office of
the Government of the Republic of Lithuania (LRV). The Steering Group included: Eglė Radišauskienė,
Vice-minister, Ministry of Social Security and Labour (SADM); Arūnas Plikšnys, Vice-minister, Ministry of
Education, Science and Sport (SMSM); Marius Skuodis, Vice-minister, Ministry of Economy and Innovation
(EIM); Loreta Maskoliovienė, Vice-minister, Ministry of Finance (FINMIN); Giedrius Viliūnas, Managing
Director, Government Strategic Analysis Center (STRATA); Jovita Pretzsch, Representative of Trade
Unions, Tripartite Council; Janina Matuizienė, Representative of Trade Unions, Tripartite Council;
Gintautas Kvietkauskas, Representative of Employers, Tripartite Council; Birutė Miškinienė,
Representative of Employers, Vilnius Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Crafts; and
Agnė Kavaliauskienė, Advisor to the Group of Strategic Competences (LRV).
The OECD is grateful to the Lithuania National Project Team for its invaluable guidance and input
throughout the project, and for convening participants and moderating discussions during virtual
consultations. We are particularly grateful to the National Project Manager, Danguolė Kiznienė, STRATA,
for her ongoing assistance and co-ordination. The National Project Team included, in alphabetical order:
Agnė Kavaliauskienė, Advisor to the Group of Strategic Competences, LRV; Birutė Miškinienė,
Representative of Employers, Vilnius Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Crafts; Eglė Došienė,
Senior Advisor to the Youth Department, SADM; Emilis Ruželė, Representative of Employers, Tripartite
Council; Gintautas Jakštas, Head of Higher Education Policy and Career Analysis Division
(as of October 2020); Giedre Beleckienė, Policy Analyst, STRATA; Indrė Raubė, Advisor of the Division of
Labour Market, SADM; Inga Liubertė, Advisor of the Division of Labour Market, SADM; Inga Veževičienė,
Senior Officer of the Investment into the Growth of Economy Division, FINMIN; Janina Matuizienė,
Representative of Trade Unions, Tripartite Council; Jovita Pretzsch, Representative of Trade Unions,
Tripartite Council; Julius Jakučinskas, Director for Life Long Learning Department, SMSM; Jurga Šimkutė,
Advisor of the Division of the Development of Human Resources, EIM; Linas Kadys, Head of
the Development of Human Resources at the Department of Economic Development, EIM;
Osvaldas Šmitas, Director for the Department of Economic Development, EIM; and Tomas Pūtys, Head of
the Division of Non-formal Education, SMSM.
Our warm thanks go to the many government and non-government representatives who generously shared
their insights during the virtual workshops, expert meetings, regional meetings and bilateral meetings, and
via written input. Special thanks go to the experts who provided feedback on draft sections of the report,
namely: Arminas Varanauskas, Executive Director at Knowledge Economy Forum; Aurelija Valeikienė,
Deputy Director, Centre for Quality Assessment in Higher Education; Rimantas Dumčius and
Mantas Pupinis, experts from PPMI Group - Public Policy and Management Institute; Agnė Perednė,
Vydūnas Trapinskas and Birutė Noreikaitė, experts from Invest Lithuania; Daina Kleponė, Managing
Director of Enterprise Lithuania; Professor Dr. Margarita Teresevičienė, Vytautas Magnus University;
OECD SKILLS STRATEGY LITHUANIA © OECD 2021
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Dr. Laima Galkutė, Researcher at the Education Institute of Vytautas Magnus University, and Member of
the Lithuanian National Commission of UNESCO; Professor Dr. Saulė Mačiukaitė-Žvinienė, President of
the National Council of Education; Nora Skaburskienė, Director of the Higher Education Department of
Vilnius Gediminas Technical University; Linas Leonas, Chairman of the Higher Education Assessment
Committee, Centre for Quality Assessment and Higher Education; and Agnė Kudarauskienė, education
expert representing the Lithuanian Confederation of Industrialists.
Over 150 stakeholders participated in the various meetings that took place during the OECD’s virtual
consultations. These stakeholders represented ministries, government agencies, subnational authorities,
education and training institutions, businesses and business associations, unions and community
associations, academia, civil society and other organisations (see Annex A for a full list of participating
organisations). The OECD would also like to thank the staff of STRATA for their active outreach and
communication with stakeholders, and for other support during the project.
The OECD team is grateful to the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion and
the Directorate-General for Education and Culture of the European Commission for contributing both
financial support and expertise throughout the project. We are especially grateful to Alison Crabb,
Michael Horgan and Carlo Scatoli, as well as Arnoldas Pranckevičius.
While the report draws upon data and analysis from the OECD, Lithuanian authorities and other published
sources, any errors or misinterpretations remain the responsibility of the OECD team. The opinions
expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of the OECD
member countries nor the European Union.
Ben Game (OECD Centre for Skills) was the OECD project leader responsible for co-ordinating
the National Skills Strategy project in Lithuania. The authors of this report from the National Skills Strategy
team of the OECD Centre for Skills were: Chapter 1. Key insights and recommendations (Ben Game,
Bart Staats, Sam Thomas and Daniel Unterweger); Chapter 2. Equipping young people with skills for work
and life (Ben Game); Chapter 3. Raising adults’ and enterprises’ participation in learning (Sam Thomas
and Stefano Piano); Chapter 4. Strengthening the use of skills in Lithuanian workplaces (Bart Staats); and
Chapter 5. Strengthening the governance of skills systems (Daniel Unterweger). Visionary Analytics
(external consultants) provided research assistance, feedback and consultation assistance throughout the
project. Marieke Vandeweyer (VET team, OECD Centre for Skills) and Romane Viennet
(OECD Directorate for Education and Skills) provided feedback on draft sections of the report.
As Head of the OECD National Skills Strategy team, Andrew Bell provided oversight, analytical guidance,
comments on chapters and supervision. Stefano Scarpetta, Director of the OECD Directorate for
Employment, Labour and Social Affairs, and Mark Pearson, Deputy Director of the OECD Directorate for
Employment, Labour and Social Affairs, both provided strategic oversight for the project, as well as
comments.
Rasa Silyte-Niavas, Véronique Quénehen and Jennifer Cannon (OECD Centre for Skills) provided
invaluable support for consultation, organisation, report layout and design, and publication planning. This
report was copy-edited by Elizabeth Zachary (external editor).
OECD SKILLS STRATEGY LITHUANIA © OECD 2021
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Table of contents
Foreword 3
Acknowledgements 4
Abbreviations and acronyms 10
Executive summary 12
1 Key insights and recommendations for Lithuania 15
Skills matter for Lithuania 16
The OECD Skills Strategy project in Lithuania 19
The performance of Lithuania’s skills system 20
The policy context in Lithuania 24
Priority areas and recommendations 26
References 35
Annex 1.A. Policy recommendations 37
Annex 1.B. The OECD Skills Strategy Dashboard 49
Annex 1.C. Strategies and recent reforms in Lithuania related to skills and education 52
2 Equipping young people in Lithuania with skills for work and life 54
The importance of equipping young people with skills for work and life 55
Overview and performance of young people’s skills development in Lithuania 57
Opportunities to better equip young people with skills for work and life 66
Summary of policy recommendations 104
References 105
Notes 113
3 Raising adults’ and enterprises’ participation in learning in Lithuania 114
The importance of raising adults’ and enterprises’ participation in learning 115
Overview and performance of Lithuania’s adult learning system 116
Opportunities to raise adults’ and enterprises’ participation in learning 123
Summary of policy recommendations 150
References 151
4 Using people’s skills more effectively in Lithuania’s workplaces 159
The importance of using people’s skills more effectively in Lithuania’s workplaces 160
Overview and performance of skills use in Lithuania 162
Opportunities to use people’s skills more effectively in Lithuanian workplaces 169
OECD SKILLS STRATEGY LITHUANIA © OECD 2021
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Summary of policy recommendations 197
References 198
5 Strengthening the governance of skills policies in Lithuania 204
The importance of strengthening the governance of Lithuania’s skills system 205
Overview and performance of Lithuania’s skills governance 206
Opportunities to strengthen the governance of Lithuania’s skills policies 215
Summary of policy recommendations 248
References 249
Notes 254
Annex A. Engagement 255

FIGURES
Figure 1.1. Cross-country variation in job automatability in selected countries 17
Figure 1.2. The OECD Skills Strategy Framework 20
Figure 1.3. OECD Skills Strategy Dashboard: Lithuania and selected European countries 21
Figure 1.4. Lithuania’s performance on key indicators for developing relevant skills 22
Figure 1.5. Lithuania’s performance on key indicators for using skills effectively 23
Figure 1.6. Scope and focus of the OECD Skills Strategy Lithuania 26
Figure 2.1. Completion rate of upper secondary education, by programme orientation (2018) 60
Figure 2.2. Students who are not top performers, PISA 2018 63
Figure 2.3. Young tertiary graduates experiencing field-of-study mismatch, by field, 2019 65
Figure 2.4. Differences in young people’s participation in non-formal education and training, selection of
municipalities, 2018-19 74
Figure 2.5. Lower secondary teachers’ statutory salaries at different points in teachers' careers (2019) 81
Figure 3.1 Participation in adult learning and labour productivity 116
Figure 3.2. Distribution of non-formal education and training activities by provider 119
Figure 3.3. Participation rate in adult learning in Lithuania and other countries 120
Figure 3.4. Participation rate in formal and non-formal education and training for different demographic
characteristics 121
Figure 3.5. Motivation to participate in adult learning and training 122
Figure 3.6. Training provision and intensity in Lithuania and other countries 123
Figure 3.7. Sources used by adults for information on adult education and training 125
Figure 3.8. Percentage of adults seeking information on adult education and training 126
Figure 3.9. Assessment of training needs and prevalence of training plans among firms in Lithuania and
the EU 129
Figure 3.10. Barriers to the provision of training for enterprises 131
Figure 3.11. Barriers to participation in adult learning for individuals 132
Figure 3.12. Sources of funding for low- and high-skilled adults in employment undertaking learning
opportunities 137
Figure 3.13. Barriers to recognising prior learning for local PES 144
Figure 3.14. Percentage who found education and training useful for their job 148
Figure 4.1. Correlations between skills use, productivity and the adoption of high-performance workplace
practices (HPWP) in OECD countries 160
Figure 4.2. Skills use indicators, by type of skill, 2012, 2015, 2018 165
Figure 4.3. HPWP related to employee engagement and autonomy, 2019 166
Figure 4.4. Share of workforce in occupations characterised by high value-added activities, 2018 168
Figure 4.5. Share of managers with low literacy and/or numeracy, 2012, 2015, 2018 180
Figure 4.6. Participation by managers in formal and/or non-formal training, 2012, 2015, 2018 186
Figure 4.7. Share of employers indicating that their employees are very motivated, 2019 190
Figure 4.8. Information-processing skills used at work, private-public sector differences, 2012, 2015, 2018 194
Figure 5.1. The four pillars for strengthening the governance of skills policies 205
Figure 5.2. Lithuania’s performance regarding inter-ministerial co-ordination 211
Figure 5.3. Lithuania’s performance regarding stakeholder engagement 212
OECD SKILLS STRATEGY LITHUANIA © OECD 2021
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Figure 5.4. Lithuania’s performance regarding using evidence in policy making 214
Figure 5.5. Primary, secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary expenditure on educational institutions per
full-time equivalent student 215
Figure 5.6. Potential structure of new governance arrangements for skills policy in Lithuania 218
Figure 5.7. Advantaged/disadvantaged schools where one or more dedicated counsellor provides career
guidance 233
Figure 5.8. Communication with career counsellors/career guidance specialists according to age 234
Figure 5.9. Public expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP (2018) 239
Figure 5.10. Average annual growth in total expenditure on primary to tertiary educational institutions per full-
time equivalent student, 2012-2017 240
Figure 5.11. Ratio of students to teaching staff in upper secondary education, by programme orientation, 2018 242
Figure 5.12. Share of EU-ESIF contributions in the funding of lifelong learning 245

TABLES
Table 2.1. Lithuania’s strategic goals for young people’s skills 56
Table 2.2. Lithuanian government and stakeholder bodies responsible for young people’s skills 57
Table 2.3. Institutions providing formal and non-formal education in Lithuania (2019) 59
Table 2.4. Enrolment in ITE programmes, universities and colleges 79
Table 2.5. Offered and unfilled state-funded places, by field of education, 2019/20 95
Table 2.6. Student basket (public subsidy per student), by field of education, 2020/21 96
Table 3.1. Lithuania’s strategic goals related to adult learning 117
Table 3.2. Principle actors in the adult learning system 118
Table 3.3. Online portals with information about adult learning opportunities in Lithuania 126
Table 3.4. Main financial incentives for employers undertaking adult learning in Lithuania 133
Table 3.5. Mechanisms to increase employer engagement in skills policies 134
Table 3.6. Main financial incentives in Lithuania for individuals undertaking adult learning 138
Table 3.7. Financial incentives for individuals to participate in adult learning opportunities 139
Table 4.1. Lithuania’s strategic goals related to skills use 163
Table 4.2. Government agencies with responsibilities for the provision of business support 164
Table 4.3. Business support programmes in Lithuania 170
Table 5.1. Main high-level governmental actors in skills policy in Lithuania 207
Table 5.2. Subnational levels of government responsible for skills policies 208
Table 5.3. Advantages and disadvantages of forecast and foresight methods and tools 229

Annex Table 1.A.1. Policy recommendations for successfully implementing and complementing modern
curricula 37
Annex Table 1.A.2. Policy recommendations for strengthening Lithuania’s teaching workforce 38
Annex Table 1.A.3. Policy recommendations for making vocational and higher education more responsive
labour market needs 39
Annex Table 1.A.4. Policy recommendations for raising awareness about adult learning benefits and
opportunities 40
Annex Table 1.A.5. Policy recommendations for removing barriers to participation in adult learning 41
Annex Table 1.A.6. Policy recommendations for strengthening the recognition and quality of non-formal adult
education and training 41
Annex Table 1.A.7. Policy recommendations for enhancing the use of skills by supporting businesses to adopt
HPWP 42
Annex Table 1.A.8. Policy recommendations for strengthening management and leadership skills to drive the
transformation of workplaces 43
Annex Table 1.A.9. Policy recommendations for empowering and engaging the workforce to make better use
of their skills 44
Annex Table 1.A.10. Policy recommendations for increasing the capacity and co-ordination of governmental
and non-governmental actors across the skills system 45
Annex Table 1.A.11. Policy recommendations for enhancing skills information and career guidance systems
and practices 46
Annex Table 1.A.12. Policy recommendations for ensuring sustainable, well-targeted, and shared financing of
Lithuania’s skills system 47
OECD SKILLS STRATEGY LITHUANIA © OECD 2021